System for integrating java servlets with asynchronous messages

• US 20030084097A1
• Filed: 10/03/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Messinger, Adam, Pullara, Sam, Brown, Dave
• Granted Patent: US 7,003,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/12 Protocol engines
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

In a traditional application server that uses servlets, when a request is dispatched to a thread the service() method of the appropriate servlet is called. When the service( ) method returns the response is sent. This is sub-optimal in the case that an asynchronous event must occur before the response can be sent, because the thread running the servlet must block until the event occurs. The invention provides for asynchronous processing of such requests. In one embodiment, the invention provides an extension to the Servlet API which allows the service( ) method to return (and thus the thread to be freed) before the response is ready to be sent. Then when the asynchronous event later occurs the response may be completed and sent.

Claims

1. A system for asynchronous messaging between Java servlets and a servlet handler, comprising:

a server including a servlet and a servlet response handler;

an HTTP interface for receiving requests from, and sending responses to an HTTP client; and

,

wherein a request from a client allows the servlet to return certain response data immediately, and to set a response code to be used with subsequent responses.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the servlet subsequent response is triggered by a response command to send additional response data.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the response command is a JMS message.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the functioning of the servlet and servlet response handler is exposed to the user via a JSP tag library.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the JSP tag library is used to indicate which HTTP response data should be returned immediately and which response data should be returned later.

6. The system of claim 4 further comprising support for JSP execution contexts.

7. A method for asynchronous messaging between Java servlets and a servlet handler, comprising the steps of:

receiving request from an HTTP client to access a servlet resource; and

,

responding to said requests asynchronously, wherein a request from a client allows the servlet to return certain response data immediately, and to set a response code to be used with subsequent responses.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the servlet subsequent response is triggered by a response command to send additional response data.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the response command is a JMS message.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the functioning of the servlet and servlet response handler is exposed to the user via a JSP tag library.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the JSP tag library is used to indicate which HTTP response data should be returned immediately and which response data should be returned later.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising support for JSP execution contexts.